Warning Sign
by xOfriendsfanOx
Summary: How did this happen to him? Him! The boy who had faced down the darkest lord in history and practically destroyed him at the age of one and lived! How could he have lost himself so completely… over a girl? It was an impossible concept to him. Please R&R!
1. Crash

**Disclaimer**

For those of you who wish to skip directly to the fic, all you need to know is I make no attempt to assume or criticize the properties of J.K. Rowling's work. She is a brilliant author and I love her imagination, but sadly she has created the characters, events, and places of "Harry Potter" and not I. I only accredit myself to writing this story.

**A/N**: This is my first H/Hr fanfic ever so please be kind. I love H/Hr above all things in the Harry Potter fandom, and although I haven't read all six books yet because I am fairly new fan I am already on the fourth. So if everything I say isn't exactly precise please don't criticize or scrutinize. This story is taking place right after the third book while including things from the movies and adding some things of my own. This story just came to me, and I hope I can convey it as well as the images in my head for you all to enjoy. Please R/R. It is very important to me. Also I am not British, I am American so please try to keep that in mind, although I will try to keep the language from the book the same as best as I can.

**Summary**: If you like angst, teen hardships, and great love stories with a lot of tension then I think you'll really like this fan-fiction. (At least I hope so!) Most of the story is after the third book, although I will be going back to moments where some things have happened that didn't happen in the book or movie, but the general concept of the third book is the same. Namely Sirius, Buckbeak, Harry and Hermione going back in time… I will not be retelling the story because that was J.K.'s job, but I will show some scenes in a different light. For time reference this story takes place in fourth year. This is just a story that came to me and I have to put it down in words because I think it's unique, and as much as I love reading other's work I would like to have a go at it myself. Without further ado…

**Warning Sign**

_Crash _

How did this happen to him? _Him!_ The boy who had faced down the darkest lord in history and practically destroyed him at the age of one, and lived! How could he have lost himself so completely… _over a girl_!!?? It was an impossible concept to him. Him being Harry Potter, or quite better known as _The-Boy-Who-Lived_.

But then again, as he kept telling himself, this was no ordinary girl. No. All this torture, and all this pain was due, quite frankly, to the brightest witch at Hogwarts…_Hermione Granger_.

_Hermione_. The girl that had saved his life more times then he could count. The girl that _always_ stood by his side no matter what. The girl that understood him in ways no one else ever did in his life. The girl that changed his world, and turned it completely and utterly upside down.

How had he gone from seeing sweet little innocent bookworm Hermione, his best friend, to everything he would ever want or need in his life? Sure, he had always needed her in one way or another, but _wanting_ her the way that he did had to be fatal.

And how did all of this happen to him? He wasn't sure he knew. He knew the events that had transpired like the back of his hand, and he knew that ever since then it was as if he had been falling from the sky off of his broom with nothing to grasp on to. He was just falling mid air with no sure sign he would ever reach the bottom in one piece.

And then what happened?

He crashed.

He crashed and fell into an abyss so deep, and so dark that nothing in his past, not Dementors or Lord Voldemort himself was as dark as the hole he had found himself in. He knew if he ever wanted to really live again that she was the only one that could drag him out of the suffocating hell that was killing him slowly. And it was quite ironic really because _she _was the reason for his constant agony. She was the reason he felt he hadn't been able to breathe right in months. She was the reason, _his reason_ for everything.

Well…the time had come to show that she that he meant business, and with that Harry went outside McGonagall's office to the sheet and wrote his name down. He was going to do this if it killed him because if he admitted to himself he already felt as dead inside as he could.


	2. Gone

**A/N: **Hey guys…I just wanted to tell you that a lot of this story is going to contains songs, and I know that most people just quickly dismiss the song lyrics and read the fanfic, (I being one of them) but I just wanted to say that if you can you should really try to listen to the songs I put in here because they really set the mood and show what Harry is feeling. Okay, thanks! Don't forget to R&R! And I know the last chapter, and this one are a little short, but I wrote this a few months ago so the first few chapters aren't that long. The good thing though is that they're already written so the updates will be very short. Oh and the song I used in this chapter is "The Scientist" by Coldplay.

_Gone_

"_Come up to meet you, Tell you I'm sorry, You don't know how lovely you are. _

_I had to find you, Tell you I need you, Tell you I set you apart._

_Tell me your secrets, And ask me your questions, Oh let's go back to the start._

_Runnin' in circles, Comin' at tails, Heads on the science apart._

_Nobody said it was easy_

_It's such a shame for us to part_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No one ever said it would be this hard_

_Oh take me back to the start..."_

And as Harry lied on his bed with his headphones jammed into his ears listening to his favorite band, Coldplay, he let his mind go back to the start…where it had all began.

If he was going to be honest, for him, _IT_ had always been there. Like an underlying tumor that's been covered for years that all of a sudden has spread to every part of your body like a cancer… Well that's what it had been like, and that's exactly what that _IT _did to Harry.

To call him daft would have been an understatement, for how he had never realized his feelings before after all the times that he had been around her he didn't know. He would feel little stomach flutters when she complimented him, or when he would see that etched brow of worry for him cross her features. It was like she placed him above others, and as her top priority. He couldn't lie that he loved it because he very well did, but anytime he felt those tingling sensations he just pushed the feelings aside and never set much to dwell on them. Until, that is, they were in their third year.

I guess it had started when Hermione sent her beloved birthday gift to him the summer before third year, and he had realized just how well she knew him. He had simply loved his Broomstick Service Kit, and he loved it more knowing that it came from her. Then when he had finally seen her again at the Leaky Cauldron with Ron…he couldn't deny that he had felt utter joy at the sight of her at the bottom of the steps, and how her smile widened when she saw him. At the time he just told himself those were all _friendly_ feelings that he felt. He had missed her, **and** Ron for that matter…that was all. _Right?_

Oh how daft he had been. He wished he could go back a year ago and just shake himself out of his utter daze of bewilderment. He never was the sharpest tack when it came to feelings or girls.

Another flash of memory fled into Harry's mind as he listened intently to his music…it was as if he was watching a movie of their history. It was of Him, Hermione, and Ron walking through the train to Hogwarts as he explained the story of blowing up his Aunt. Ron had found it amusing, but Hermione, as always, was in the same range of thinking as he was. Come to think of it they were always on the same page…even then in all their naivety.

He had remembered how worried she'd looked when he had told her and Ron about Sirius, when he had thought he was out to kill him. Her face was filled with utter fear for him. And then the way their eyes met each others when the train had stopped and darkened, whilst their cold breaths mingled in the air. They had looked at each other because as he now understood they had both wanted to protect each other.

All thoughts came back to her. Her being the first face he had awoken to after he passed out from the Dementor. Her handing him his glasses, and making sure he was all right. Her calming him when Malfoy belittled him about passing out. Her voice cheering from the stands while he was on his broom during Quidditch. Her being the closest to him, sitting on his bed, when he woke up in the hospital wing after falling from the sky, asking how he felt. Her kneeling before him, drawing him out from his invisibility cloak when he was so vulnerable.

He remembered the little things now as he engraved them into his mind…those little things that were all warning signs of what was to come. They were forever etched into his memory, to his heart. He was just going over and over them in his mind. They were what kept him living. The past kept him going because as of now they didn't have a present, and he surely wanted, no, _needed_ a future with her. There was just no other option for him. She was his answer to all the unasked questions he had never known to ask himself. She was just, simply put, everything. Everything that reminded him of the aching in his heart, the pounding in his head, the void of warmth in his soul. With one kiss of her lips, and touch of her skin she had completely and utterly ruined him. He didn't fathom a way to go back at that point. Back down that road where she hadn't been in his every waking moment and memory.

So he was stuck…stuck in complete misery day after day.

He had found that nothing he did seemed to take the pain of her away from his mind. Nothing…except for music. Sure it seems strange for a powerful wizard like himself to take a liking to something so trivial, but that was only because he hadn't taken the time to appreciate its enormous impact. At the end of third year after he and Hermione had helped Sirius escape with Buckbeak he had sent them both owls, with letters and gifts. Hermione's gift was a book on advanced spells, for Sirius knew she was quite the reader being the brightest witch of her age, as he had called her. Harry's however was an I-Pod. Sirius' letter said that it was quite popular in the states, and that he thought it would help Harry to take his mind off of things when he got stressed. It definitely did indeed.

Everywhere Harry went so did his I-Pod. They were inseparable. Funny how he and Hermione used to be just that, and had barely spoken in weeks. Everyone around Harry had noticed the dramatic change in his behavior. He was usually alone, and always had those earphones shoved in his ears. It was as if he was escaping into a different world, and avoiding life at Hogwarts. People especially noticed that Hermione and him seemed to be on rocky terms since the train ride to school that summer.

Oh how he had _dreaded_ that day, but secretly anticipated it as well. It was a nice paradox of irony. He dreaded it because he knew he would have to face her again, and the way they had left things last term he knew he wasn't ready. But at the same time he couldn't wait to see her again, and hope against hope that maybe, just maybe she had forgiven him. There was also the added fact of getting as far away from the Dursley's as possible, which he didn't even seem to mind much that summer because he was already in more pain then he knew he could possibly have been in. He had never, and would never intentionally hurt her, and that is what made him so angry now. How could she have not known that? That it was something else entirely, and had **nothing** to do with her.

_Well of course it had to do with her you prat_ he thought to himself. He didn't know what he was angrier about: her, him or their whole dire situation. Probably the latter. He couldn't stand it anymore. The silence. Her absence. The tension when they did see each other. The bloody tension was enough to drive him to drink. He had gotten to be quite the self-pitying bloke latley, even entertained suicidal thoughts. That is what he hated about himself most. How had he, HARRY BLOODY POTTER, become SO **pathetic**?

He knew.

Because she was gone.


	3. Lost

**A/N: **Hello again…thanks to the people who have been reading and reviewing, although I know most of you are still confused I am telling you now to just be patient and all the answers will be revealed soon. I don't want to tell you everything in the beginning because I, myself, have read plenty of fanfics, and I know that that takes away from a story. So please just be patient with me, and I promise that I will NOT disappoint you. Thanks, and don't forget to R&R!

_Lost_

Harry was fed up! He had bloody had it! Couldn't he catch a damn break??

He had been in Snape's class, and as usual, had his I-Pod on. Harry had performed an illusory spell before hand so that it was invisible to others. Snape must have asked Harry a question several times because he hadn't heard him until he was standing right in front of him yelling "_POTTER!"_ Harry had quickly taken his earphones out from his ears, which looked quite strange because no one else could see them, and Snape caught on.

"_Well, Well, Well…think your cleaver do you Mr. Potter?" _With the wave of his hand his I-Pod was now visible, and he had snatched it from Harry's hands before he could react.

"GIVE IT BACK!" He yelled jumping to his feet as if ready to pounce.

"_How dare you have the nerve to come into **my** class, and deceivingly listen to this contraption! And then have the nerve to yell! Well now you won't be able to listen to it at all because I am keeping it until you change your self-righteous attitude! Detention, and thirty points from Gryffindor for your misconduct. Not too cleaver anymore are we, Mr. Potter?" _Snape said snidely as he went to turn back around to walk away.

"**I SAID GIVE IT BACKKKK!!!!" **Harry yelled, as he tried to grab the I-Pod from Snape. Everyone in the class who had already had their eyes transfixed on the spat gasped.

"**_Mr. Potter. You would do well to remember where you are, and that I am a your teacher! Ten more points from Gryffindor! Care to make it anymore?" _**

"FINE! DON'T GIVE IT BACK!" Harry went to grab his things off his desk, and just as he did he caught Hermione looking at him with utter coldness, and disappointment. He wanted to die. He turned to walk out the door, and Snape walked right in front of him before he could leave.

"_And just **where** do you think your going? I suggest you sit yourself back down before you take more points from your house, and you have detention indefinitely."_

"No. I'm going to Dumbledore, and you're going to give me back my I-Pod or I'll--

He was cut off when Hermione suddenly rose from her chair, and gave him one of the coldest stares he had ever seen, but then again he'd seen a fair few lately.

"Oh Harry will you stop being an incessant prat, and just sit down before you cost us all the points we have worked so hard for!"

He was angry now… so angry in fact that he thought he might internally combust…he had heard of it happening before. He walked right in front of her, and looked her square in the eyes with a glare.

"Are you sure you don't mean all the points YOU worked so hard for Hermione? Because we all know what a know-it-all you are!" Hurt. He was sure he'd seen that look cross her face. And just when he was about to celebrate that he could actually still hurt her she went ahead and shot him…well, not literally, but that's what it felt like.

"You know what Harry!?…I think **YOU'RE** the know-it-all! You think the world owes you something because youre 'The-Boy-That-Lived?' Well I guess it's your misfortune to know that the world doesn't owe you shit! You are, quite frankly, the most selfish, self-righteous person I've ever met! Grow up already!"

He stood there. Frozen. Waiting for someone to shake him, and wake him out of his nightmare. But no one did. And he was utterly shell-shocked. Had she just called him the same thing Snape had called him not two minutes ago? Had she actually agreed with him? Who was this girl? She had just embarrassed him in front of the entire class, and he was sure that he had turned twelve shades of scarlet. This couldn't be the Hermione he knew, could it? The one that he had been dying over for months. And suddenly he snapped.

How dare she yell at him, and take Snapes side! How dare she insult him, and tell him what he was, and wasn't! He had been slowly slipping away all because of her, and THIS is what he got? No bloody way! He was determined to make her feel just an ounce of what he felt.

And then he did.

In a calmer voice then before he said "You know...I don't know what I ever saw in you." When he did he saw her jaw drop slightly, parting her trembling lips. He saw that her eyes were glistened with filling tears. After all isn't that what he had wanted? To win? And then he had realized in that moment that _he_ had lost. Lost it all. Lost her. There was no way back now because he had just, in so many unspoken words, ended whatever chance there might have been for him and her. He hung his head low in defeat, and walked out of the classroom. Not even hearing Snape yelling "_Get back here Potter,"_ after him, or Malfoy's "_I knew you hated him! Ugh, that was bloody brilliant Mudblood!"_

He was lost. Never to be found again. If they asked about him in the future they would say Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, and completely lost it over a girl. He didn't know where to go, or what to do. He felt like yelling his brains out, or sobbing on the floor like a girl. Both seeming like pretty good options at the moment. He was a bloody idiot. He should have kept his damn mouth shut! But then again, _she_ had started in on him first! Right? But that look in her eyes, Jesus. He would have lynched himself right there if he could have. He had put that look there, and for that he wanted to cease to exist.

Just then his face bumped into something or someone. "_Umph."_ He looked up to see that it was Minerva McGonagall.

"Oh Harry, do watch where your going," she said in her stern disciplinarian voice

"Sorry," he muttered looking at the ground. Seems he had a lot to apologize for lately. Suddenly he felt her hand on his shoulder, and he quickly looked up.

"Harry, can I have a word with you in my office?"

"Sure." And with that they both started the short walk down the hall.


	4. Complicated

**A/N:** I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Please continue to R&R!

_Complicated_

As Harry walked into McGonagall's office he saw that damn blasted sign up sheet again. He sighed. What was the point now? She wouldn't care either way. He dismissed his thoughts when McGonagall told him to sit down.

"Take a seat Harry."

And he did. He watched as she sat across from him, and a look of concern and concentration was sketched on her face.

"Harry…I don't know that you know this, but I, as well as the rest of the staff, have been watching you latley and noticed a change in your behavior." Was it that damn obvious? He thought. She continued. "I just wanted to know if something happened whilst you were on leave from Hogwarts with those _Muggles_." She stressed this last word in a sarcastic, and threatening way. Harry almost wanted to smile…_almost_.

"No nothing unusual happened. Same old fun." Harry didn't even look phased. McGonagall studied him for a moment before speaking again.

"Well, I know you may not realize this because I am a teacher, but if you ever wanted to talk about anything then I am here to help. Even things you feel you can't talk about with anyone else." He laughed a little to himself. Yeah, like he was really going to bare his soul to a teacher. _Well better her then no one at all _Harry's subconscious dully noted. _Oh bugger off!_

"Well thank you, but that isn't necessary," Harry answered as politely as he could.

"Very well then, if your sure then I won't continue pestering you." He paused momentarily, and then thought…well maybe just this one thing.

"Well there is one thing...you see Sirius, my godfather, gave me a very personal gift that I have grown very accustomed to these past few months, and just now in class Professor Snape took it from me. I was just wondering if there was anyway that you could—err—I don't know…" She eyed him for a moment then spoke.

"What is this gift that you have grown so accustomed to?" She asked interested.

"An I-Pod. You see he told me it is a very popular invention in the states, and he thought it would help me with stress. The fact is I didn't know how much I could love a gadget or music for that matter until he gave it to me. I just don't know how I'll get by without it now." Harry tried to give his best distressing plea, although he knew the way he already looked those days he wouldn't have to try all too hard.

"Well if you got on well without it before I don't see how it would consume you so to where you couldn't survive without it. Honestly, to grow that attached to a material possesion... and I don't know that questioning a Professors motives is in my forte." Harry just pleaded at her with his eyes. "But if you say that it is this important to you then I will try and reason with him…Harry, just what kind of stress have you been under?"

He sighed a long exhausted sigh, thought, and then knew that he would never be able to explain the stress he had been dealing with. He felt like he was hit by bludgers every ten minutes, got the life sucked out of him by a Dementor at least every hour, and had faced Lord Voldemort, and been defeated by him every day. He felt so cold anymore, and unattached to everything. He had even been alienating his best friend, Ron, who seemed to be the only person that continued to try to talk to him. But he knew even Ron wouldn't keep trying much longer with the way Harry had been acting lately. Harry decided a generic answer would have to do.

"It's complicated." McGonagall did _not_ look pleased with that answer.

"Harry, you can't very well keep it inside of you forever. Why don't you just try to talk about it? Maybe I can help. Aside from being a teacher, I am a woman, and I have lived beyond these walls of Hogwarts." Somehow, Harry doubted that. But he thought he had nothing left to lose, and everything to gain. So he decided he would try explain his dismal dire life situation as best as he could to his teacher, though he might have to drink some fire whisky before the night was through…


	5. A Promise

**A/N:** This chapter will be a flashback taking place a little before the Time Turner scene; right after Sirius (as the dog) dragged Ron into the Whomping Willow. I am not actually going to have Harry saying what happened to McGonogall. I'll just show the scene instead, and you can assume him telling her how he felt rather then the actual events that transpired. You'll see why soon. Oh and I credit the screenplay writers of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for some dialogue in this chapter because I had to use some of it for the scenes to be accurate. R&R!

_A Promise_

_Wack!_ Harry, and Hermione had just been swatted like flies by the WhompingWillow, and had both fallen to the ground. Hermione was up first, and helped Harry by picking him up by the arm. Harry had felt it again. _No Harry! You can't bloody well have flutters now while there's a tree trying to kill you both. Just protect her from getting hurt! _

And he had tried, tugging her along behind him. Hand and hand. Step for step.

And then "Move!" He directed her so the huge branch wouldn't stomp on her. And then he pulled her up.

"Duck!" He heard her shout just as he got hit with the branch, falling to the ground with his glasses flying off. He could hardly register anything when the tree had tried to step on him again, but he heard it. Her voice, screaming. A high pitched scream, and then his name, and he could barely see her form with his glasses off. He frantically searched around for his glasses so that he could rescue her, and just when he had found them and put them back on he heard her voice yell "Harry!" He saw her grasping desperately to a branch, and before he could think of a way to help her he felt her hand grab his shirt, and pull him with her. He was flying mid air when she threw him into the hole he had seen Ron go through.

He landed on his back with an "Ahh!" That Hermione was strong. And then he released how strong she was when she landed right on top of him seconds later.

"Ahh! Oh, I'm sorry." She said it so cutely though, like she really needed to apologize. Her lips were right against his neck, and her breath was hot from her weakened panting. He shivered. Had her lips always been that soft? He had never known. Her hair was splayed all across his face, and he inhaled her flowery scent. She smelled like nothing he had ever smelled before, which surprised him given the fact that they had been running and sweating. It was a cross between daffodil and lily. _Gorgeous_, he thought. His hand had subconsciously gone to her hair, and he stroked it which only made her breathe become more ragged and long against his neck. He shivered again, and she had slowly raised her head to look at him. Had she noticed?

_Oh God, oh god! I'm stroking her hair, smelling her, and shivering like an idiot! Of course she noticed! Okay say something cleaver! Wow, she has pretty eyes. They're like a cross between honey, and cinnamon. Why is she smiling? Wait, why am** III **smiling? I probably look like a big buffoon. Okay say something Harry, anything! _

"No worries." As he said this he realized just how close their faces were. Their noses barely grazing. Their breaths mingling. It was the most sexually charged moment (mind you there hadn't been many) of his life because suddenly he became fully aware of the fact that Hermione was on top of him. Her legs intertwined with his. Her arms around his head. Her lips inches away. Her eyes burning through his very soul. He thought if he died in that moment, he would have died a happy man looking into those eyes. He reached up his hand to brush a stray piece of hair from her face and placed it behind her ear, and she smiled at him. He loved her smile. He loved making her smile, but this smile suddenly looked so unique to him. Like he was looking at it in a new light. Maybe it had something to do with that fact that he had never been that close to her before, and hadn't taken the time to appreciate her lips, and the way they curved into a cute smugness that was all her. He suddenly admitted the fact that he liked being this close to her, and he wondered what it would be like to kiss the smugness right off of her soft lips.

_Snap out of it mate! This is Hermione! You know your bookwormish-bossy-best friend!? _Harry wanted to punch that part of his subconscious into oblivion._ Sod off you git! _Harry was suddenly shaken out of his daze when he felt a weight leave his body, and saw that Hermione had risen to her feet, and pulled on his arm to get him to do the same. He felt a little peeved that she had ended the moment, but he thought that he would have ample time to make new ones with her, and made a promise to himself to do so.

"Where do you suppose this goes?" She asked as he dusted himself off to regain some of his composure to lead them forward.

"I have a hunch. I just hope I'm wrong." They walked up steps, and all the while the only noise Harry could hear was their breathing. When they came to what looked like an attic door at the end of the stairs Harry peered his head in first to look around, and just as he had turned he saw that Hermione had done the same. Their noses were grazing again, and it was all becoming too much for Harry not to grab her face and snog her senseless right there. He decided to break the silence, and say something.

"_Hi_." He whispered right against her face. She smiled, shaking her head slightly at, no doubt, his goofiness and whispered back.

"_Hi. You're a loon, you know that?" _They tried to suppress giggles, but were failing miserably. Wait, weren't they in there to find Ron?

"_I try_." Then Harry decided it was time to get back to business, and help his friend. He stepped forward, and turned back to help Hermione up and took her hand in his.

"We're in the Shrieking Shack, aren't we?" She asked looking worried.

"Come on." Trying to urge them forward up another staircase. He started to speed up a bit, with her right behind him, when he heard screaming. He looked into a door opening, and saw his friend.

"Ron! The dog…where is he?"

"Harry! It's a trap. He's the dog. He's an animagous!" Pointing behind Harry, and Hermione. And again, their eyes followed the same path until they saw him…Sirius Black. Suddenly he felt, rather then saw, Hermione move from the spot where she stood beside him to right in front of him where she held him in place with her hands, and stood with her backside pushed right against him. He knew he should be thinking other things, but the only thought he could muster was of her extreme closeness. _Bloody hell man! She's protecting you now? Why don't you just wear a damn skirt!_ Then he heard her speak.

"If you want to kill Harry then you'll have to kill us too!" She yelled to the man. The man, who he believed to have killed his parents, spoke back.

"No, only one will die tonight." Suddenly Harry remembered his rage, and he pushed Hermione away forcefully before grabbing the man by his neck, and throwing him to the ground. He pulled out his wand, and the man laughed.

"Are you going to kill me Harry?" Suddenly, before he could answer, Professor Lupin burst through the door.

"Expelliamus!" And Harry's wand was cast from his hand. Lupin tilted his head to tell Harry to move. When he did he was eagerly greeted by Hermione's arm, which pulled him right beside her again. Again he was gone from any other thoughts but her closeness. He knew that Lupin and Sirius were talking, but he couldn't really get his mind to listen until he felt Hermione's body jerk against his, and heard her tattered breath. Then she was a few feet in front of him yelling at the men who were, hugging? What was going on?

"NO! I trusted you! And all this time—you've been his friend…" She turned back to Harry, and Ron before wipping back to the men. "He's a werewolf. That's why he's been missing classes."

"How long have you known?" Lupin inquired.

"Since Professor Snape set the essay."

"Well, well, well Hermione you _really_ are the brightest witch of you age I've ever met—

Before Harry could even subconsciously agree Sirius cut them off.

"Enough talk Remus…come on let's kill him!" The man said.

"WAIT!"

"I DID MY WAITING! TWELEVE YEARS OF IT! IN AZKABAN!" Harry realized that Hermione was beside him again, and she was breathing heavily. Harry eyed Lupin, feeling the sting of betrayal before hearing him speak again.

"Very well. Kill him, but wait one more minute. Harry has the right to know why."

"I know why…" His voice came out shaky, and he could feel Hermione's eyes on him. "You betrayed my parents…you're the reason they're dead."

"No Harry, it wasn't him. Somebody did betray your parents, but it was somebody who, until quite recently, I believed to be dead."

"Who was it then!?"

"Peter Pettigrew..." The other man answered. "And he's in this room, right now. COME OUT, COME OUT PETER! COME OUT, COME OUT AND PLAYYY!" Just then Snape burst in the room.

"Expelliamus!" He yelled making Sirius' wand go flying. Hermione gasped, and pushed herself closer to Harry. "Ahh vengeance is sweet…how I hoped I'd be the one to catch you."

"Severus…" Lupin tried to speak calmly and approach Snape until he pointed his wand at him, and he backed away.

"I told Dumbledore you were helping an old friend into the castle, and now here's the proof."

"Brilliant Snape. Once again you put your keen and penetrating mind to the task, and as usual come to the wrong conclusion. Now if you'll excuse us, Remus and I have some unfinished business to attend to." Just then Snape put his wand to Sirius' throat.

"Give me a reason. I _beg _you." They went on arguing. Snape threatening something about a "Dementor's kiss." Just then Harry reached his arm over Hermione's back, letting it lay there for a moment until his fingers grazed her hand slightly, and took her wand from her pocket. He approached the men, and Snape ticked his head to the door for Harry to leave when Harry pointed his wand at him and cast the Expelliamus spell making him fly back against a bed.

"Harry, what did you just do?" He heard a frightened Ron ask.

"You attacked a teacher!" He heard Hermione say disbelievingly herself. He would tend to her later. Right now it was time for answers. And after more conversation he got them.

Turns out that Peter Pettigrew was Ron's rat, Scabbers, and had hidden himself for twelve years in his animagous form. Pettigrew was in fact the one who had handed Harry's parents to over to Voldemort to be killed. Remus and Sirius had remained loyal to his family, and had wanted to kill Pettigrew right there, but Harry insisted for them not to. He wanted to take him back to the castle so that the Dementor's could have their way with him. He had figured too that his father would not have wanted his two best friends to become killers. And with that they had made their way back to the castle.

Harry had wanted to talk to Sirius, but at the same time thought he should stay behind with Hermione and tend to Ron, whose leg was accidentally biten by Sirius in his animagus form She had told him she would stay with Ron because she knew, as always, what he had needed at that moment. Sirius was the closest thing to family he had, and she knew he would want to talk with him. He silently thanked her for that. As they were talking, Sirius had suggested that if Harry wanted to he could and live with him. Just then Hermione broke them from their conversation.

"Harry!" She had just looked at him, and pointed to the full moon. And with that Harry, as well as everyone else, knew that Professor Lupin was about to change into a werewolf. And as he did, Pettigrew transformed back into a rat and got away. Harry had tried to go after him, but as if Hermione could read his thoughts she grabbed him back the second he even attempted to run. And when she approached the werewolf to see if there was any signs of consciousness from Lupin left Harry thought his heart had sunk to his feet. But she had just as quickly come back to him and Ron's arms.

Then Snape reappeared, and he had just started to yell at Harry when he too saw the werewolf, and instead tried to protect them. Harry was surprised by his gesture, but later reasoned it was probably just because he was a teacher, and it had been a reflex. Sirius was back in his animagous form, and had tried to fight off Lupin, but Harry had run after them to make sure the werewolf wouldn't hurt him. He had thrown a rock at his head, and it had approached him angrily ready to scratch into him when he heard what he thought to be another werewolf howl. He had just been saved, and silently thanked whatever it was because the werewolf followed the cry.

He heard Sirius' whimpers, and then saw his form change back into man. He ran after him to see if he was alright when he realized he was on the ground unconscious near the lake. Just then the water around them turned to ice. Sirius awoke with a yell, and Harry looked to see Dementor's flying over-head. They had already begun on Sirius when Harry cast the _Expecto Patronum_ spell. It wasn't nearly strong enough, and then they started on Harry, then Sirius again, taking turns. The cold was filling Harry's body, and then it stopped suddenly when he saw what looked like a deer of bright light walk across the lake and then encircle all of the Dementor's, making them take off. Sirius breathed life again, and before Harry gave into weakness he saw the light fade from a wand of a figure standing across the lake. _Could it be?_ Then he saw black.


	6. One

**A/N:** Hey guys...sorry this is taking me so long, but my computer has been having technical difficulties, and I haven't had time to sit down and start this chapter. But I'm making time now in my hectic days because I really like the story the way it plays in my head so it's time to get it down on paper. This scene takes place after Harry was in McGonagall's office, and the whole Time Turner scene will be rehashed as well. Just sit tight, read & review! Song in this scene is "I Still..." by the Backstreet Boys.

_One_

_"Who are you now? _

_Are you still the same _

_Or did you change somehow? _

_What do you do _

_At this very moment when I think of you? _

_And when I'm looking back _

_How we were young and stupid _

_Do you remember that? _

_Baby _

_No matter how I fight it _

_Can't deny it _

_Just can't let you go..." _

And Harry couldn't...he just couldn't. No matter how angry he had been at her in that instant in Snape's class he knew then that he could never possibly let her go. Even if she wasn't around him like she used to be, and even if she refused to speak to him, or acknowledge his presence...he knew.

The thought that kept crossing his mind was that she didn't.

She probably assumed,_ and rightfully so since you were a complete prat_ he added, that he had regretted everything from those nine dreadful words he had said to her that played through his head night after night. "_I don't know what I ever saw in you_." And her face, her eyes that rimmed with tears just from those nine little _deceitful_ words he wished so hard had been nine different ones. Nine words that could have told her the truth of the pain, and hell he was going through without her. But no, he had to get her back. _HA! Backfired didn't it you bloody git?_

"..._I still need you _

_I still care about you _

_Though everything's been said and done _

_I still feel you _

_Like I'm right beside you _

_But still no word from you _

_Now look at me _

_Instead of moving on, I refuse to see _

_That I keep coming back _

_And I'm stuck in a moment _

_That wasn't meant to last (to last) _

_I try to fight it _

_Can't deny it _

_You don't even know..." _

She didn't know...how could he expect her to? After what he had said to her he regrettably admitted to himself that he wouldn't blame her for never speaking to him again. And then he thought if he were in her shoes nothing she could ever say to him would change what he felt for her, or make him turn her away. So in turn he decided that she didn't care for him that way anymore, _or in anyway anymore. _He hated the torture his subconscious mind put him through, but he hated the feeling that settled uneasily in his stomach, and made a knot tighten in his throat more that his fears may in fact be true..._she doesn't care._

Sitting in the common room on the couch by the fire, and listening to his music Harry thought about his visit to McGonagall's office, and how she had in fact helped a fair bit. He had told her everything...well, not _everything_ because well, let's face it, he couldn't. But he had told her the importance of everything that had happened in snippets, and how it had made him feel. She told him that women were more simple then men would imagine...they just asked for honesty, and more then likely they put up a front of being strong-willed just so they didn't disappoint their gender. They didn't want to cave first.

Harry had pondered that he didn't care about disappointing the world if it meant he could be with Hermione again, and have her feel the way he felt for her...he would surely do it with no questions asked. It wasn't about being the stronger one to him because he knew whole-heartedly that she had reduced him to a weakened blubbering buffoon, and he didn't care. No...his issue was that if he were the first to breech the subject, or pour his heart out to her she would down right reject him if she didn't punch him in the face first like she had down to Malfoy in their year.

He was scared. **Harry Potter **was _scared_ of being rejected by a girl. Petrified, if he let himself be honest because she was _the girl_ in his opinion. The alpha and omega of everything in his world. He knew if he wanted to win her back he would have to go bigger then words. He would have to go above and beyond, and embarrass himself like he had never done before. And he was going to...his name was on the sheet, and all plans were a go...well except for the train wreck that would proceed if she wasn't won over by his grand gesture. No, she had to be, there was just **no** other options for him. There was no plan B.

He stared into the fire as if to ask it _how had it all come down to this_? _How did we get here?_ He knew because it was the sole memory that kept his blood flowing, and his brain functioning. It kept his heart beating, and his soul inside...it kept him alive. One memory of one night had kept him going for months with no sign of a second coming.

_One._


	7. Possibilities

**A/N:** Hey guys...I know it's been a little while, but I have been working on this chapter whenever I have had the time. This one is the longest thus far, which is why it has taken so long. Enjoy, and please R&R!

_Possibilities_

"Harry?" Hermione's soft voice called. Slowly Harry opened his eyes, and said the last thought that was on his mind before he blacked out near the lake...

"I saw my dad." He realized he was in the hospital wing, and that Hermione was right by his side. She got closer to him, bracing herself on the bed with her hands, shocked at his awakening and the impact of his words.

"What!?"

"He sent the Dementors away. I saw him across the lake." He smiled at the thought, and her presence. She was even closer now, and she put her hands on his arm like she always did when she had something to say when she was worried. He realized then that he loved wakening up to Hermione's face, and since he had done it on many occasions (because he'd had quite a few scares in the past) he was growing used to the fact that she was always by his side. He liked it, a lot, and he would never take their time together for granted a second longer. He rubbed his hand up her thigh that was pressed against his bed, and smiled before she spoke again.

"Listen Harry they've captured Sirius. Any second now the Dementor's are going to perform the kiss." Now he was awake.

"You mean their going to kill him?" He reached for his glasses before sitting up on the bed looking to Hermione for her answer.

"No it's worse...much worse. Their going to suck out his soul." Just then Dumbledore came through the doors before Harry could react to the impact of Hermione's words. She was already on her way to do it for him, as usual.

"Headmaster you've got to stop them! They've got the wrong man!" Her voice crackled. He had to regain his composure, and not let her do all the work this time...this was_ his_ godfather after all...his only _real_ family.

"It's true sir, Sirius is innocent." Harry said stepping to Hermione's side to concur.

"It's Scabbers who did it..." Ron's voice came from the hospital bed on the other side of the room. His leg was in a cast, and Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed him before. Then he thought _Well when you wake up to her face you don't very well want to notice anything else, am I right? _

"Scabbers?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yeah, he was my rat sir...well he's not _really _a rat. Well he was a rat, he was my brother Percy's rat, but then they gave him an owl..." Hermione whipped around back to Dumbeldore tired of Ron's babbling, as he was, Harry supposed.

"Point is we know the truth. Please believe us." Harry thought if she put it that way how could anyone_ not _believe her...she was so sincere. Dumbeldore put his hand on her shoulder before speaking.

"I do Miss Granger, but I'm sorry to say the words of three thirteen year old wizards will convince few others..." He said as he walked over to Ron's bed. "A child's voice, however honest and true is meaningless for those who forgot how to listen." Then Dumbeldore placed a firm hand on Ron's foot, and patted it.

"Ah." Ron whimpered making a painful face, and inhaling deeply. Just then the clock chimed and Dumbledore looked like he had a plan. He had to, he always did.

"Mysterious thing time..." He said before walking past Harry and Hermione toward the chiming. "Powerful, and when meddled with _dangerous_. Sirius Black is in the top most cell of the dark tower." He quickly turned back to them. "You know the laws Miss Granger...you must not be seen. And you will do well I feel to return before this last chime. If not the consequences are too ghastly to discuss." Wait, what? What was he talking about? Laws? Consequences? And why on earth was he telling Hermione? Surely she was just as baffled as he was. He looked at her, but she had a concentrated look on her face as she listened intently to Dumbledore's every word.

"If you succeed tonight more the one innocent life may be spared. Three turns should do it I think." He winked before walking out of the door. He popped in again. "Oh, by the way, when in doubt I found retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin. Good luck." And then he was gone.

"What in the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked, taking the words right out of Harry's mouth.

"Sorry Ron, but seeing as you can't walk." Harry was completely confused, and when Hermione reached in her jacket he was distracted as well. She pulled out a long chain, and looped it around Harry's head so they were both encircled around it. She put her hands on a small oval in the center, and when Harry placed his hand on it she smacked it away. _Hey!_ He thought, as he stared at her determined face that was focused on the oval. _Okay so no touching then? _

Just then she turned the circle, which held what looked like an hourglass inside, and it started spinning backwards. All of a sudden millions of scenes from the previous day flashed rapidly around them, and Harry was fixated on them until, that is, Hermione's face was inches away from his and she wrapped her arm around his neck to take the chain off of him. It was just for a second, but he thought she was about to kiss him. _Yeah, keep dreaming_. He must have been dreaming because he just thought that they had gone back in time, and that just wasn't possible...was it? She put the chain back in her jacket, and he finally spoke.

"What just happened? Where's Ron?"

"Seven-Thirty...where were we at seven-thirty?" Wait, was he supposed to answer?

"I don't know...going to Hagrids?" Just then she grabbed his arm for him to follow after her, which he would gladly do at any time of the day.

"Come on...and we can't be scene." She started running, so he ran too trying to keep up.

"Hermione?" He asked once they had started running. "Hermione? Hermione, wait." He said after a few minutes. "Hermione will you please tell me what it is we're doing?" Just then she had stopped running when they came to an opening, and she looked out, which he did as well and saw him, Hermione and Ron from earlier in the day when she had punched Malfoy in the mouth. _Wait a second..._

"But...that's us. This is not normal--" Just then she reached around with her arm, and then placed her hands on his shoulders, forcefully pushing him up against the wall. He was suddenly out of breath, and then she reached back in her jacket for the chain. He thought he would lose it. He was transfixed by her, and their eyes were locked. He suddenly wanted to smash her up against the wall, and see just how forceful she would be pinned against him.

"This is a time turner Harry..." He looked down to see it in her hands, and he tried not to stare at her chest. _Best friend, best friend, best friend...HERMIONE! Best friend who I want to snog senseless right now. Best whatever else I want to do with her, but won't let my mind think. _"McGonogall gave it to me first term. This is how I've been getting to my lessons all year."

He tried to formulate a coherent thought so he wouldn't look like he had been starring at her chest, and thinking about doing obscene things with her. It was her fault really..._she's the one who pushed me up against a bloody wall!_

"You mean we've gone back in time?" He said looked back up at her face. She nodded, finally taking her hands off of her jacket so he could no longer stare.

"Yes. Dumbledore obviously wanted us to return to this moment..." _Yeah...wonder if he would have wanted that if knew what I've been thinking. _Hermione leaned back against the opening to look back at their earlier selves. He came right up behind her. "Clearly something happens he wants us to change." He closed his eyes, and smelled her hair. _I could change it all right now_, he thought wickedly. He opened his eyes to see earlier Hermione punch Malfoy square in the nose.

"Good punch." He said, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"Thanks. Malfoy's coming!" She pushed him back again, and they quietly slipped past the opening so they wouldn't be seen by Crabbe, Goyelle, and Malfoy's former selves.

"I'm going to get that jumped up Mudblood!" Malfoy had said. She definitely was jumped up Harry thought, but if anyone was _getting_ her it was going to be him. She had started inching forward, and Harry could see her backside all too well. When she squatted he could also see the lower skin of her back peeking out from her jacket. _Jumped up in deed_, he thought. Then she had inched forward again before breaking out into a run to the wall their earlier selves had just been in front of. She peeked behind it, and Harry came up right behind her again. He didn't want to get too close this time because it was just too torturous. So he tried to focus again.

"Look! Buckbeaks still alive."

"Of course. Remember what Dumbledore said? If we succeed more the one innocent life could be spared. Let's go." She urged him forward with her hand before her hair passed his nose. He inhaled slightly before following after her.

They ran rapidly down the many steps before they ducked behind the pumpkin patch. They were out of breath, and panting and Harry's hand…well it was close to Hermione's. Just as he was about to splay his fingers over hers they heard a swarm of crows, which startled them. They also saw that Dumbeldore and the executioner were approaching Hagrids hut.

"Here they come, I better hurry." Harry said getting to his feet. Hermione grabbed his arm dragging him back down closer to her. They were inches away again, and Harry thought he was going to slip up soon and do something uncontrollable. She broke into his thoughts with her explanation.

"Fudge has to see Buckbeak before we steal him, otherwise he'll thing Hagrid set him free." Harry silently realized she was smarter then her own good. With her hand still in place on his arm they turned to the window to watch their previous selves conversing.

"That's Pettigrew." Harry said breathing angrily like he would up and strangle him in a second's time. Again, and much more forcefully this time, Hermione grabbed his arm again to face her. His breath on her face…_oh the temptation_.

"Harry you can't!" She pleaded. Suddenly he was pissed at her.

"Hermione that's the man that betrayed my parents you don't expect me to just sit here," Harry argued. Her face said that she did, and then her answer confirmed it.

Harry tried to break free from her again, and she pulled him down before pulling him after to follow her. Then she sat with her back facing one of the pumpkins, and he sat right next to her. She was panting, and he thought she was really trying his patience of control.

"Harry…you're in Hagrid's hut now. If you just go bursting in he'll think you've gone mad." She said before turning her head and exposing her long slender neck to him. _I've gone as mad as they can go, _he thought and just as he was about toshow her how mad he was she spoke again. "Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time Harry. We can't be scene." And by her tone he knew he had to listen to her. They heard the voices of Dumbeldore, the executioner and Fudge approaching.

"Fudge is coming." Hermione said before turning to look back to the window at their earlier selves. "And we aren't leaving. Why aren't we leaving?" Just then she found a marble stone on the pumpkin and must have decided that she wanted to get them caught cause she whirled it through the window before it broke the jar in Hagrid's hut. She made a cute little whimper when she did though so Harry thought at least something good had come of it. She whipped back when she thought she would be scene and tucked half against the pumpkin, and half against Harry and from the air that carried he got a good whiff of her hair again. He inhaled, and thought _focus._

"Are you mad?" He asked her. She had to be because she got another stone and whipped it through the window to hit earlier Harry in the back of the head. Another whimper, and he thought it was worth it for the bump she had caused. Harry subconsciously rubbed his head for how painful he remembered his head had stung. Hermione had a good arm.

"Ow, that hurt." He said playing his pitying plea like it would score him points.

"Sorry." She said sweetly, but unaffected. Oh, that would soon be changed. She then turned to her side so that she would have better access to view the scene. Her bum was pressed right against Harry's legs, and he had to clench his hands to stop them from moving to her waist.

"Come on we're coming out the back door. Go." So they made a run for it. They both hid behind two different trees. Harry was peeved he hadn't ended up behind her. She brushed the tree branch back to look out. Harry had moved to stand behind her because he didn't know what she was looking at.

"Is that really what my hair looks like from the back?" She asked looking at her own bushy hair as she stepped on a branch. She quickly whipped around so her back was now against the tree. Harry was right in front of her now, and was pressed firmly against her. His hands were on either side of her, and her breath reached the hollow of his neck. He shivered, and let out a breathy sigh right into her ear.

"Hermione," He pleaded or scolded her for stepping on the branch. She let out a quick sigh, and then moved her leg so that Harry's thigh was between her. _What is she playing at?_ He thought. He suddenly realized as she had started to crouch down, and he caught on. She slowly moved back behind the pumpkin patch with her ass sticking out, right into Harry. She turned her head right into his, and their lips barely grazed.

"Okay. Go Harry. Go." She told him. She was quite bossy, and he liked it. Harry started to inch forward, and crows were biting at his feet. He thought the whole situation was almost humorous because all he could think about was that he was going to die before he properly got to kiss her.

"Get off." Then he came face to face with a hippogryph again. Buckbeak, to be more specific. _Yup, going to die now, and I had to wait until a situation like this to realize I had balls to act on my feelings. Typical._ Harry bowed to the Buckbeak, and silently prayed the beast remembered him. And he bowed back. Harry undid the chain, as he heard the door to Hagrid's open. He waited until it closed again.

"Okay, Buckbeak come quickly. Come with us now, okay? Come on." Harry tried to pull on the reigns of the chain to move the enormous animal, but to no veil. He turned his head as if to ask Hermione what to do.

"Keep trying, come on." She said as she gave him an encouraging swat. That's all it took really. Harry pulled again with all his strength until the animal craned its neck. "Buckbeak, okay, quickly. Hurry up, okay?" Harry hoped he didn't look like a weakling in front of Hermione, but he shrugged it off. "Hurry up now Buckbeak, okay?" He pulled again until the animal let out a growl slash crow. At least now he was sitting up, and just then Hermione saved him. She had ferrets, which was like doggie treats to hippogryphs. _Smart girl_ Harry concluded.

"Come on. Come on Buckbeak. Come and get the nice dead ferret." Just then Buckbeak jumped up throwing Harry backwards to the ground as Hermione threw the ferret to Buckbeak. She had more to bait him to move. "Come on, it's here. Come on Beaky." Just as he finished devouring the first one he went for Hermione's hand and grabbed the next one. It almost looked like the animal was going to take it off. She let out a gasp, and Harry thought it was cute. They froze as they saw Dumbledore, Fudge, and the executioner coming out of Hagrids. Hermione used the ferrets again to bait Buckbeak to move.

"Come on Buckbeak. Come on." They were now in the woods hidden behind trees when the group at Hagrids had realized that he was missing.

"Where is it? I saw the beast just now…not a moment ago! Fudge asked

"How extraordinary" Dumbledore added.

Buckbeak came behind Hermione and tried to grab at the dead ferret around her neck, and she raised her hand in annoyance. Harry laughed to himself. She was a pistol.

"Well we must search the grounds." Fudge demanded.

"Well search the skies if you must Minister. Meanwhile I'd like nice cup of tea or a large brandy would be nice. Oh executioner your services are no longer required. Thank you." Dumbledore said like a giddy kid. Just then the executioner smashed a large pumpkin out of fury. Harry and Hermione had already broken out into a run into the forest with Buckbeak following behind hoping to get a ferret. Hermione threw him one, and laid the last on the ground.

"Now what?" Harry asked.

"We save Sirius."

"How?" Harry asked baffled.

"No idea." Hermione said as she was already running forward. Harry followed after her. They stopped when they were facing the Whomping Willow.

"Look it's Lupin. And Snape's coming." Suddenly, standing there with Hermione by his side for what seemed like an eternity (with no one the wiser) Harry realized he could do it forever. That this wasn't just lust or raging hormones, but it was so much deeper. It was just the simplicity in knowing she was always with him, and he planned to make sure that she always was. He wanted more. He wanted her. He even entertained the thought of loving her, but he didn't like that word just because he had never heard it enough growing up to believe it even existed. But he knew it did because what other word could describe what he felt for Hermione? That had to be it, but he wouldn't let himself admit it yet.

"And now we wait." Harry said. She nodded.

"And now we wait." They sat down against a tree, and waited. Bats flew by them, and It was the closest thing to romantic that the situation would allow. Buckbeak was snacking on the bats and having a good time. Harry was having just as much fun being with the only person in the world he wanted to be alone with. It wasn't in an atmosphere he would have liked, but it never was and that's why he loved it.

"At least someone's enjoying himself." Hermione said watching Buckbeak. Harry felt the slight twinge of hurt at that statement.

"Yeah." He decided if that's how she felt then best not pour his heart out at that given time.

"Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Before…down by lake when I was with Sirius… I did see someone. That someone made the Dementor's go away."

"…With a Patronus." She added because she knew everything. He turned to her surprised that she knew. "I heard Snape telling Dumbledore. According to him only a really powerful wizard could have conjured it."

"It was my Dad. It was my Dad who conjured the patronus." Harry concluded.

"But Harry… you- your Dad's—"

"Dead. I know." He said a little harsher then he meant to. But he did know and he didn't want her to think he was some barking lunatic. Even so, he felt a little gut wrench when he saw he had hurt her. "I'm just telling you what I saw." Harry said as he turned around at war with himself to apologize and tell her everything or just leave it be. Before he could decide anything she was up.

"Here we come." She said. He decided to smooth things over with telling her something else of importance, something he wanted to tell her anyways.

"You see Sirius talking to me there?"

"Mmm Hmm."

"He's asking me to come and live with him."

"That's great."

"When we free him I'll never have to go back to the Durley's. It'll just be me and him. We can live in the country…someplace you can see the sky. I think he'll like that after all those years in Azkaban." He was happy when he saw her happy for him and smiling. The awkward tension was gone. They turned back to watch the scene as Lupin changed into a werewolf.

"Let's go." Harry said taking off. They stopped when they saw the earlier Harry being cornered by the werewolf. Hermione then made a howling nose. Harry placed his hands over her mouth to stop her from getting them killed. She whipped them off.

"What are you doing!?"

"Saving your life." She made another howling noise.

"Thanks." He said, meaning it. She had saved his life countless other times in countless other ways. "Great. Now he's coming for us."

"Yeah. Didn't think about that. Run." She said holding his arm before taking off, yet again. They ran, and ran and then Harry fell, but she didn't leave him for a second and went to help him up. Now they were clutching hands, and then they ran behind a tree. He knew it was a near death situation, and he shouldn't be thinking things like how cute she looked flushed, but he was. He really couldn't help it. She was so close. He heard her whimper, and move them around the tree. Her breath was on his chest. His neck. His ear. Tempting the shit out of him. Then she moved them again, and they turned to see the werewolf right in front of them. Harry grabbed Hermione close to him. Just then Buckbeak was flying through the air towards Lupin. They were battling, and Harry needed to see if Hermione was alright. He moved to put his back to the tree when she buried her face in his chest.

"That was so scary."

"Shhh-- hey. Hey look at me." When she did he realized how close their faces were. He took his hands and smoothed them over her face to reassure her. "Your alright now. I'm not gonna ever let anything bad happen to you, okay?"

"Okay…same here." They were so close he couldn't stop himself. So he moved his hand until it was under her chin and it was pointed up at him. Then his face was moving as if by a magnetic force to hers. His nose grazed hers, and he moved it to smooth over her cheek. Then he moved it behind her ear to breath in her scent.

"_Harry_." She said in a throaty hush into his neck. He could feel the heat from her breath. That was it for him. He couldn't contain himself. Not for all the time in the world because this moment may never come again. He put his hand on the back of her head and with a little more force then he intended smashed his lips to hers. At first she didn't respond, probably out of the shock of it. But then she pushed her lips back to his. That wasn't enough for him. Not after all the bloody waiting he did. So he daringly slid his tongue out across her lips and when he felt her mouth open in a gasp he opened his as well and slipped it in. It didn't take her long to do the same, and soon their mouths were at war. Tongues were circling around each other, teeth were biting lips, and still Harry's thirst was not satisfied. He moved them so that Hermione was now pushed against the tree. He knew she felt the bulge below saying hello, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His hands were on her waist, and hers were in his hair. Suddenly he wanted all of her. He tore his mouth from hers with a gasp, and moved his lips to her chin to suck on it. Then he moved along her jaw line and planted kisses up until he came to her ear lobe, and he sucked, and nibbled until he heard her whimper.

"_Harrrry. Ugh, what are we doing? We—we have to stop. Have to—hmmm."_ He didn't quite understand what "hmmm" meant but he was sure it wasn't a bad thing. So he continued his work on her neck, sucking and biting. He slid his tongue across the hollow of her throat, and put his lips against it in an open mouthed kiss. He swore he heard her hiss. Wait, was she a parsel-mouth now too? "_Harrrry. Harry what—what are you doing to me?" _

In a little more throaty voice then he wanted to sound he looked into her eyes and answered. "What you do to me every time I look at you." Her jaw fell. She was shocked, but how could she be? Why would he just kiss her just to kiss her for not apparent reason? Before he could hear her answer the wind around them blew and they looked up to see the Dementor's starting on their way.

"Sirius." Harry said determined to save his godfather, despite how much he wanted to stay behind and snog Hermione that it hurt. "Come on." He said grabbing her hand and running back through the forest. They stopped when they were looking at Sirius surrounded by the Dementors.

"This is horrible." Hermione said.

"Don't worry, my Dad will come." He reassured. "He'll conjure the patronus." They watched as more Dementors came after Sirius, and the Harry across the lake.

"Any minute now. Right there. You'll see."

"Harry listen to me. No one's coming."

"Don't worry he will. He will come." But now Harry wasn't so sure because he was still watching Sirius and himself being constantly worked on by the Dementors.

"You're dying…both of you." He heard her say in a distant voice like she didn't want to believe it herself and Harry couldn't take it. He wouldn't let himself die, not when he had just had one of the best, if not THE best moment of his life not more then five minutes before. It wasn't fair. Why should he be deprived of happiness? No. He wouldn't let the Dementors suck his life away. He ran a few feet until he was in sight and pulled out his wand, and yelled with everything in him that wanted happiness, that wanted to continue that kiss with Hermione, that waned to save Sirius.

"EXPTO PATRONUM!" Just then a huge light flared from his wand, and the Dementors began to swarm away from it. The light continued until they were all gone. Harry couldn't believe it was him that he had seen earlier, that he had that kind of power inside of him.

Out of breath, and exhausted Harry turned back to Hermione who awaited him with a smile. He took her hand and led her on to Buckbeak first, and then came behind her so that he could hold her steady. Harry knew Hermione was afraid of flying, and he took humor in this. Once they were up in the air though, he vocalized what had been on his mind.

"You were right Hermione. It wasn't my Dad I saw earlier. It was Me. I saw myself conjuring the Patronus before. I knew I could do it this time because…well I'd already done it. Does that make sense?" He asked a frightened Hermione in front of him.

"No! But I don't like flying! AHHHH!" She let out a deafening high-pitched scream when Buckbeak decided to drop lower to the ground. Harry's arms moved around Hermione's waist so he was holding her tight to him. His chest was heaving though from laughing at her.

"Do you find this humorous?" She scolded in a teasing tone looking over her shoulder and pressing herself more closely against Harry's front, no doubt to torture him before he plumitated off Buckbeak to his death.

_Hmmp_h. He whimpered into her hair as he tightened his arms around her waist. No doubt she couldn't feel the friendly bulge again, but if she was going to be lethal then so would he. He pressed his lips close her ear and a little more gruffly then he realized said "No. Nothing humorous about it." Maybe Hermione didn't realize it, but she gasped slightly and arched her back so she was even closer then before. Suddenly Harry's hands had a mind of their own and they slipped until they were slipping down her sides across her hips and then landed on her upper thighs were he gripped down roughly. Again his lips came right near ear where he breathed deeply. She shuddered.

"_Hermione_… don't push me." He said insistently. And then she threw her head back a little so that her neck was exposed.

"Push you?" She laughed a breathy laugh. Harry didn't think she realized it, but to him her voice had never seemed huskier or more appealing then it did. "You—she said this while pushing her back closer to Harry to emphasize that he was the "you" she was referring to, you're the one who started this." Then she wiggled her ass right into him, and even if it was unintentional Harry knew if he didn't have her by the end of the night he would surely die from either blood loss to his brain, or blood being lodged internally to his southern regions. He dropped his head to her shoulder to compose himself. Then he smelt her alluring scent and decided it was beyond his control. He placed and open mouthed kiss on her shoulder, and moved up her neck an sucked on her till she threw her arms up around his head to push him more closely to her. _I guess she got over her fears of flying? _He decided to take advantage of her current position and moved his hands slowly back up until he was gripping her breasts fiercely. He heard her make a low throaty noise between a moan and a whimper, and almost lost it right there. He put his lips to her ear again before speaking.

"And I finish every thing I start." He said before sliding his tongue across the shell of her ear, which caused her to grab chunks of his hair and tug his head closer until he was afraid he wouldn't be able to breath from suffocation.

"Good." Just then Harry raised his head to see that Buckbeak was rapidly heading closer to the ground and with their current positions it was a wonder they hadn't fallen off yet. Hermione also threw her head back up to see what was going on. She gasped, no doubt, frightened again by the fast approaching ground. She threw her back closer to Harry telling him to protect her, but her ass went right into his hardness that he was trying so hard to forget about. And in the one shove of her back, he lost all sanity. He wrapped one arm around her waist, his face coming over her shoulder so he could hear her rapid breathing. He pushed into her once, his cheat heaving and she stiffened, which pushed her ass farther into his erection and he lost his reserve and let himself spill out against her. They were both breathing heavily when it was over, and suddenly he felt like an ass. He dropped his head against shoulder, and sighed into her back.

"I'm sorry. _God_…I'm so bloody sorry Hermione. I just couldn't control it any longer." She placed her hand over his that lay on her waist, and patted it.

"It's okay Harry. I guess now you've finished what you started." She said, chuckling a nervous laugh. Harry snapped his head up and was suddenly insulted that that's what she thought he had meant. He had wanted to finish for them both. He leaned in close to her ear, and brushed his nose against it.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind." He said softly as he intertwined his fingers with hers that were still resting on top of her waist. He could hear her heart ramming against her chest, and how she was trying to control her erratic breathing.

"Oh." Was all she said as if realizing the inevitability that they both were going to finish this whole thing later. Harry felt the slight twinge of hurt and guilt that he was pressuring her to do too much too soon. He slowly tried to remove his fingers from hers and as he was removing his arm too she stopped him by placing her arm forcefully on top of his. She tilted her head as if to question why he was suddenly withdrawing from her. Then she read his mind, just like she always did. "No Harry. I didn't say I didn't want to so don't assume things." And just then they had reached the ground with a thud, and even though there were other important matters to deal with at the moment the night was still young and full of possibilities…


End file.
